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to see a geutleman ride bf my father ' s house , ( which was close by a public road , ) I asked him what o ' clock it then was . He looked at his watcti and ( old me . As he did that with so much goodnature , I begged of him to shew me the inside of his watch ; and though he was an entire stranger , he immediately opened the watch ; and put it into my hands . 1 saw the spring box , with part of the chain round it , and asked him what it was that made the box turn round . He
told me that it was turned round by a steel spring within it . Having then never seen any other spring than that of my father ' s gun-lock , I asked how a spring within a box could turn the box : so often round as to wind all the chain upon it . He answered that the spring was long and thin ; that one end of it was fastened to the axis of the box , and
the other end to the inside of the box ; that the axis was fixed , and the box was loose upon it . I told him that 1 did not yet thoroughly understand the matter . Well , nay lad , * says he , * take a ' long , thin piece of whalebone ; hold one end of it fast between your finger and thuinb , and wind it round your finger ; it will then endeavour to unwind itself ; and if you fix the other end of it to the inside
of a small hoop , and leave it to itself , it will turn the hoop round and round , and wind up a thread tied to the outside of the hoop . * I thanked the gentleman , and told him that 1 understood the thing very well , t then tried to make a watch with wooden wheels , and made the spring of whalebone ; but found that I could not make the wheel go when the balance was put on , because the teeth of the wheels were rather too weak to bear
the force of a spring sufficient to move the balance ; although the wheels would run fast enough when the balance was taken off . I inclosed ttye whole in a wooden ta ^ e , very little jigger than a breakfast tea -cup ; but a clumsy neighbour one day looking at my Watch , happened to let It fall , and turning hastily
about to pick it up , set his foot upon it , and crushed it all to pieces ; which so provoked my father , that he was almost ready to beat the man , and discouraged me so much that I never attempted to make such another machine again , especially as I was thoroughly convinced I could never make one that would be of
any real use / " What a vivid picture is this of an . ingenuous mind thirsting for knowledge ! and who is there , too , that does not envy ( he pleasure that must have beeu felt by the courteous and intelligent
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stranger , by whom the yomig mechanician was carried over his first great difficulty , if he ever chanced to * ¦ : learn how greatly his unknown questioner had profited from their brief interview ! That stranger might probably have read the above narrative , as given to the world by Fergusou , after the talents , which this
little incident probably contributed to develop , had raised him from his obscurity to a distinguished place among the philosophers of his age ; and if be did know this , he must have felt that encouragement in well-doing which a benevolent man may always gather , either from the positive effects of acts Of kindness upon others , or their influence upon
his own heart . Civility , charity , generosity , may sometimes meet an ill return , but one person must be benefited by their exercise ; the kind heart has its own abundant reward , whatever be the gratitude of others . The case of Ferguson shews that the seed does not always fail
on stony ground . It may appear somewhat absurd to dwell upon the benefit of a slight civility which cost , at most , but a few minutes of attention ; but it Is really important that those whtf are easy in the world—who have all - the advantages of wealth and knowledge at their coinmaud—should feel of how much
value is the slightest encouragement and assistance to those who are toiling up the steep of emulation . Too often ' the scoff of pride * is superadded to the * bar of poverty ; ' and thus it is that many a one of the best talents and the most generous feelings < Has sunk into the grave unpitied and unknown , '
because the wealthy and powerful hare never understood the value of a helping baud to him who is struggling with for * tune . " —Part IV . pp . 202 ^ 204 . We conclude our notice of tho 86 en * tertaiuing , " and , at the same time , most instructive , works , by recommending them to those who have the charge of our Vestry Libraries , for which theytir& admirably adapted , both by the nature of their contents , and by their extraordinarv cheapness .
We are glad to perceive that the same Society are beginning to issue a Beries of Maps , with the view of forming a good , but economical Atlas . Those of the southern part of Ancient and of Modern Greece , already published , are beautifully executed , and bid fair , by their superior style , as well as by their very low price , to drive all competitors out of the market .
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Critical Notices . ? $ 9
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1829, page 789, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2578/page/45/
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